Carmen Clifford Dixon, 68, Dies; Chula Vista School Administrator

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday for Carmen Clifford Dixon, a Chula Vista schools administrator who died Thursday in a local hospital. He was 68.

In 1943, Dixon graduated from Bradley University, then served two years in the Navy. After receiving his master’s degree from the University of Iowa, he was the speech and hearing director of the DeKalb County School District in Illinois. Dixon was also an assistant professor of speech correction at Drake University from 1948 to 1950.

He was an administrator for the Chula Vista school district from 1954 to 1986. He was president of Bonita Lions Club in 1987. At the time of his death, he was the seeing and hearing chairman for the San Diego chapter.

At the Chula Vista school district, Dixon received the WHO Award for teaching excellence awarded by the San Diego County Teachers Assn. In 1984, he was named a fellow of the Assn. of Speech, Language and Hearing by the state of California.

Dixon worked with hearing- and speech-impaired students and severely handicapped children and participated in language assessments for limited-English students. He also served on the United Cerebral Palsy Assn. board of directors.

Dixon is survived by his wife, Ruth; a daughter, Christine; a son, Timothy, and his mother, Dorothy Dixon, all of Chula Vista.

Saturday’s service will be at First Unitarian Church of San Diego, 4190 Front St., where Dixon was a member and sang in the choir.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Cancer Society, 2251 San Diego Ave., San Diego.